


there goes my hero (she's ordinary)

by jenstraflintlocked



Category: Avatar: Legend of Korra
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-18
Updated: 2021-02-18
Packaged: 2021-03-13 05:46:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,527
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29521764
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jenstraflintlocked/pseuds/jenstraflintlocked
Summary: write-up of my 'Meelo puts Su right' post
Relationships: Lin Beifong & Suyin Beifong
Comments: 3
Kudos: 30





	there goes my hero (she's ordinary)

The ceremony had been, in Lin’s opinion, touching. She’d looked over at Tenzin and couldn’t help feeling for him. He was no longer even the last air bending master. His pride in his daughter came off him in waves, but she could feel the undercurrent of relief. She knew better than most how badly Aang’s death had affected him, how desperate he’d been and how alone he’d felt. She hadn’t been able to help him, but it’d taken her a long while to accept what still sometimes felt like a betrayal.

Still, she mused, as she stared round at the small gathering that had stayed on Air Temple Island for a small after party, it’d worked out in the end.

“Hi.”

Lin twitched as Su came to stand by her, drink in hand.

“A wonderful ceremony, don’t you think?”

“Sure.” Lin grinned. “Are you looking forward to when Opal becomes a master and gets her head shaved and tattooed?” 

“Yes. I am, acutally.” Su side-eyed her sister for the attempt at riling her. “I always celebrate whenever my children achieve anything, and that would truly be a great achievement. Historic even.”

Lin shrugged; she hadn’t really expected Su to be shocked by the thought. They stood in awkward silence for a moment. “So.” Lin tried. But there were no other words she could think of to follow it and she was half grateful when Meelo spotted them and bounded over. The kid seemed to have a bizarre soft spot for her and an uncanny ability at being able to find her. He almost skidded to a halt in front of them, staring first at her and then at Su.

“Hello.” Su gave him a small wave.

“You two are sisters, right?” Meelo asked, in his forthright manner.

“Yes!” Su nodded.

“Half-sisters.” Lin amended, earning her a glower from Su.

“ _Why_ are you so hung up on that point?” She asked, sounding hurt. “You never were when we were kids.”

“I like to be accurate. Plus it means I only have to half get along with you.” Lin snorted.

“Really.” Su rolled her eyes.

“You guys don’t get along, huh.” Meelo narrowed his eyes.

“Nope!” Kya said cheerfully, bounding over and throwing an arm around Lin’s shoulders. “Well, I wouldn’t get along with my brothers if they called me a…what was it Su? Selfish, bitter, lonely woman?”

“Kya.” Lin tried to sound stern, but her admonishment was drowned out by Meelo’s drawn out shriek.

“WHAAATTTTT??! She’s not lonely! She’s got ME. And she’s BADASS not bitter! She took down TWO airships all by HERSELF!”

“Yeah!” Ikki had heard her brother yelling and had come over to join in as a matter of principle. “She’s really brave. She leapt off of the back of Oogi to do it and she’s not even an AIR bender!”

“Mmhm.” Jinora nodded, folding her arms as she joined them, Opal in tow. “She went to fight Amon all by herself to give us time to escape. It was truly selfless.”

Su was looking slightly bewildered so Meelo explained for her. “Amon was this REALLY bad guy who was taking away everyone’s bending.”

“Yes, son.” Tenzin had hurried over, placing a hand on his shoulder, trying to calm him down. “Lin was very brave.”

“I’ve never been a bender so I can’t imagine what it would be like to have that power and then lose it. But I saw Lin’s face after she lost hers, when we were in prison together and it gave me a clue.” Pema nodded, joining them, summoned by her mother’s instinct that her kids were causing a ruckus. Lin stared, struck dumb by the fact that _Pema_ of all people was coming to her defence.

“You lost your bending?!”

“I got it back.” Lin waved away Su’s look of horror.

“Korra gave it back to her, after she regained her own bending.” Tenzin explained.

“Anyway!!” Meelo interrupted them all. “This lady-“ he jabbed a finger at Lin, “-is my HeeeeeRO! So you better be respectful to her, scary lady! Or face the wrath of MeeeeeeLO!” Meelo shook his fists at her.

“Hm. It makes sense. When I was your age, she was my hero too.” Suyin nodded.

“Huh?” Lin scowled at her sister, shrugging off Kya’s arm and ignoring the waterbender’s whispered “oops…” and Tenzin’s hissed intake of breath. “What the flameo are you talking about? If I was your hero, you would’ve listened to me instead of hanging out with a bunch of thieving brats. If I was your hero, you wouldn’t have joined up with a bunch of gangsters! If I was your hero, I wouldn’t have…” Lin stopped, her hand halfway to pointing at her cheek, and gazed around, suddenly aware that a hush had fallen over the hall and everyone was staring at her, including her half-niece. “Whatever. Just stop talking garbage you don’t mean.” She shoved past Su, ignoring the confused muttering behind her.

“Oh. Well, you know the scars on Lin’s cheek?”

Lin spun back round as she heard Kya start to explain.

“Don’t you dare!” She growled as she clapped a hand over Kya’s mouth. Kya licked it. “Erghh! Don’t lick me!” Lin swiftly removed the hand and shook it, wiping it on the back of Kya’s tunic.

“That’s not what you said last night.” Kya replied absentmindedly as she bent some water from her flask to wash it off.

Lin froze so completely she didn’t even blink.

“They’re my fault.” Su said loudly, breaking the awkward silence. “Lin’s scars, I mean. She was trying to arrest me. I cut her wire. It…sprang back and struck her on the cheek.”

Lin slowly turned to stare at Su, but her sister was making firm eye contact with a point just over everyone’s heads.

“That’s why I left home when I was 16.” Su finished and folded her arms.

Well it’d successfully distracted everyone from wondering what Kya had meant, Lin supposed as she stomped off, having regained control over her body. She wasn’t sure what to feel about any of it. Meelo and the air bender kids coming to her defence, PEMA joining them. Su’s ridiculous idea that Lin had been her hero when she was young, Kya being Kya and then Su’s confession. She sat down with a creak of metal on the temple steps and buried her face in her hands.

She didn’t recognise the footsteps of whoever it was coming up behind her. They weren’t Kya’s or Tenzin’s. Korra was in a wheelchair. But she could feel a faint pull of metal when she reached out, which narrowed it down considerably. She rested her arms on her knees and turned to stare at her sister as Su sat down beside her.

“What?” Su shrugged nonchalantly. “It was bound to come out at some point. I’m honestly just surprised you never told everyone.”

Lin scoffed. “I’m not you. Besides. Who was there to tell? Those that I would’ve told already knew. I’m more surprised at you admitting in front of Opal.” Lin side-eyed Su.

“It’s a relief to finally talk about it, in a way. And you have such a passionate defence team; I didn’t stand a chance.” Su laughed. “And Opal will join it no doubt. She already hero-worshipped you from all the stories I told her. I wasn’t lying when I said that you were my hero too. You looked after me when Mom was at work, you helped me with my bending. But then you joined the force as well and…” Su sighed and fell silent.

“Right.”

“I just missed you. All I ever wanted was my sister back.” Su leant over and rested her head on Lin’s shoulder.

“You get how none of what you did was going to help make that happen right?” Lin half laughed.

“Well, as an adult, yes.” Su sat up and rolled her eyes. “As a child, I was just angry. You should be able to relate to that.”

“Hnh.” Lin grunted, conceding the point.

“You still love me. You said.” Su stared out across the courtyard with a faint smile. “Possibly not as much as you love Kya but…”

Lin took a deep breath in through her nose. “You _get_ how that is not going to…”

“Yes, yes.” Su laughed, cutting her off. “But _you_ get how that does give me a little hope? If you’re rebuilding old relationships…” she trailed off.

“Hm. Well. Today’s a start.” Lin flashed Su an awkward smile as she stood up. “I won’t make any more scenes if you don’t?”

“It’s a deal. It’s Jinora’s big day after all. And Korra could probably do without the stress of us fighting again.” Su dusted off her tunic as she got up.

“Right.” Lin nodded and walked back towards the hall, Su running to catch up. Lin waited until she had then flung an arm out and hauled her into a gentle headlock. “You love me too.”

“Of course!” Su smiled at her sister, putting an arm around Lin’s waist and leaning into the headlock rather than fighting to get out of it. “My hero!”


End file.
